Can This Year's Most Unique Movie Marketing Help End Piracy?

You probably heard by now that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which hacking-collective Anonymous is protesting by calling for an Internet blackout. (That's today, so read this post and go do something with your life. It'll be OK, we promise.) It's similar to what many people did in January last year, including major websites like Wikipedia, Google and Reddit.

That was when the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) drama were circulating. The acts were never passed, but CISPA has taken its place and now has added insanity regarding privacy laws that has the Internet freaking out. The copyright/privacy war isn't over as the bill still has a few hurdles to cross.

In the meantime, BitTorrent is taking this opportunity to promote an independent film. It is partnering with distributor Cinedigm for the download of Colin Firth and Emily Blunt's Arthur Newman — the first of six movies that the company will help promote. BitTorrent users (all 170 million of them) can watch the first seven minutes of the movie by downloading it prior to its Friday theatrical release.

"We view this as an opportunity to connect content creators with their fans," BitTorrent's VP of marketing said. "This isn't technology against content creators. It's an example of technology and content creators working together to figure out how we can help both of our businesses grow," Cinedigm's chief marketing officer added.

The company wants to ditch its past rep as a piracy network and start working with filmmakers that have tech-driven goals. Cinedigm has high hopes for the new partnership. "When you provide people with a legitimate alternative, more often than not they will take it. That's what happened with iTunes."

What do you think? Is this a smart idea, or is it too little too late? [via LA Times]

Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.